Incorporating safety valves into lockout procedures results in significant savings

Lockout/tagout procedures are a must when it comes to machine safety. Standards and technologies exist to support safety initiatives, help these procedures run smoothly and, as a result, increase productivity and profitability. 

Single point lockout (SPLO) is a way to reduce the number of lockout locations. When standards are observed, and SPLO is incorporated, real savings and benefits can be realized.

Case in point

In a white paper, entitled Safety + Update = Money, ROSS Controls discusses a consumer products company that put lockout/tagout standards to work with its double valves to reduce lockout time and save money. The company uses ROSS’ DM2 Series valves in two lockout systems, and as an alternate means of hazardous energy control circuits. These safety valves provide a complete pneumatic safety solution.

The safety valves used provide the consumer products company with a self-contained monitoring system with flexibility for applications in which only pneumatic hazards exist. The company also has the ability to easily integrate the same pneumatic safety hardware in more complicated safety applications.

By using SPLO and incorporating DM2 Series valves, the consumer products company was able to reduce lockout time by more than four minutes on a machine that averaged eight jams per shift. The result: uptime increased by 32 minutes per shift, or one hour and 36 minutes per day. That adds up to a full eight-hour shift of additional production time over five days.

A leading manufacturer

ROSS Controls is an international manufacturer of pneumatic valves, controls systems and safety products for the fluid power industry. Its lineup of safety valves includes energy isolation lockout valves, double valves for safety exhaust, sensing valves, safe cylinder return, explosion-proof valves and more.

For additional details on its comprehensive selection, contact ROSS Controls.

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